Summary of Responses to Child Abuse and Neglect in the Home

The table below summarizes the responses to child abuse and
neglect in the home, the mechanism by which they are intended to work, the
conditions under which they ought to work best, and some factors you should
consider before implementing a particular response. It is critical that you
tailor responses to local circumstances, and that you can justify each response
based on reliable analysis. In most cases, an effective strategy will involve
implementing several different responses. Law enforcement responses alone are
seldom effective in reducing or solving the problem.

It increases professionals' and residents' willingness to report suspected abuse so that police and
other agencies can intervene; it increases children's ability to set appropriate boundaries and to ask
for help when needed

...police provide professionals and residents with specific information about how to make a report;
agencies responsible for receiving reports are available 24 hours a day; teachers work safety
concepts into everyday teaching; parents are involved

Some people may continue to neglect their reporting responsibilities; some children may not perceive what is happening to them as “abuse” and will not ask for help

It increases the likelihood that mandated reporters will alert police and child protective
services of suspected abuse, as appropriate

...laws clearly state which types of suspected abuse must be reported to which agency; police receive reports about only the subset of serious cases

If laws are overly broad, police can be overwhelmed; if laws are overly narrow, cases suffer from a lack of useful police expertise; some individuals may continue to neglect their reporting
responsibilities; it does not prevent maltreatment from occurring

It establishes professional standards and elevates the quality of police investigations

...the policy provides clear guidance for key tasks and decision points; managers,
investigators, and line officers are involved in its development

Officers must be equipped with the skills to carry out high-quality investigations; there must be sufficient personnel to respond to reports of suspected maltreatment; it does not address other agencies'
responsibilities; it does not prevent maltreatment from occurring

It results in better information on which to base decisions about services and criminal
justice responses; it holds interviewers responsible for the skill with which they conduct interviews

...interviewers have opportunities to apply the skills they learn in training; interviewers receive
quality supervision; the course is broken down into several phases; specific protocols are used; those viewing videotaped statements receive training on how to interpret what they see and hear

It may increase knowledge without affecting practice; those viewing videotaped
statements may focus on less important details rather than the statement's substance

It allows police to develop improved rapport with families and leads to better- quality information on which to base decisions

...officers are willing to focus on the information needed for the investigation and to let inconsequential details pass; officers are honest about what information they must share with immigration agencies; officers accommodate the family's language preference; all documents are available in the family's native language

It may be difficult to accommodate everyone in areas with diverse immigrant populations; it takes time to develop expertise; officers must commit extra time to developing rapport

...services are initiated prenatally or at birth; families are identified using a standardized risk assessment; services are intensive and long-term; services support parent-child interactions; families are linked to other needed services; caseloads are limited

High-intensity services are resource-intensive; caretakers may not apply the skills they have learned or take advantage of the services offered

...officers know the legal limits of their authority and make decisions in consultation with child protective services; parents are informed about what will occur; efforts are made to reduce victims' anxiety

Removal from home may be traumatic to the victim; some jurisdictions do not have adequate facilities for emergency placement; some children will be transferred among multiple placements, which increases the trauma; it adds additional stress to a family already experiencing problems

It causes an immediate change in the environment; it creates an opportunity to plan a long-term rehabilitation program for the family; it provides specific deterrence to child abusers

...it is used as a last resort

It does not address underlying risk factors; prosecution is difficult because maltreatment is hard to detect and little evidence is available; relying on the testimony of child victims is notoriously difficult

It works on the assumption that police will provide higher-quality investigations than child protective services can

Some research has shown no improvements in the efficiency of investigations or the promptness of service delivery; it does not reduce maltreatment rates; it does not increase the severity of criminal justice sanctions

It works on the assumption that knowledge of perpetrators' whereabouts will prevent future incidents, and that victims do not know their offenders

Research on the impact on recidivism rates is largely unsupportive; unforeseen consequences of these laws may actually increase risk factors for recidivism and make it more difficult for police to identify perpetrators' whereabouts